Aerial Choreography: The Divinity of Love
by Starcharter-75
Summary: [Co-written with Ms. Moxxi] When an unforeseen event occurs in the lives of the Crystal Gems, Steven, now aged 19, and Amethyst must face up to their failure and accept the inevitable that will come within the next nine months... (A rewrite and sequel to Aerial Choreography, with elements from Another Morning. A work in-progress.)
1. Aerial Choreography

Amethyst came to. She looked up into the starry night and reoriented herself. She looked over to her left and found Steven staring down at the glowing light of a forest fire below them.

"Wow! Did you see that, Amethyst? We started a fire!" Amethyst smiled softly at Steven; even though he was no longer a child, he had somehow managed to find joy in the world around him. As she beamed lovingly at the lad, everything came back to her; the memory of Steven, herself, and the beautiful choreography they had performed together.

* * *

It had begun when Amethyst had come to bring Steven to bed, but he wasn't interested. She started to walk away, but then Steven had blocked her path for seemingly no reason.

"What are you doing," the annoyed Amethyst had asked. "You better have a good reason for this."

"Yes, yes I do," the young man had responded. "Amethyst, there's been something that I've wanted to tell you for the longest time since, well, ever. I...I-" Amethyst stared at the nervous look on his face, the midnight skyline, the secluded location- it was perfect for these kinds of moments, at least if Steven was going to tell her what she thought he would. She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Are you trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me?"

"Yes! I really like you, Amethyst. I really do!" There was a short pause. "There!" A longer pause followed; Steven waited nervously for Amethyst's thoughts on his recent revelation. While she understood Steven's feelings, for all men go through emotions such as this, she wasn't sure that she had a romantic love for him either; she had always considered their relationship to be that of a mutual friendship. But now that he had come out and told her, some sort of new appreciation for the lad bloomed from within her.

"That's all? I had expected something a little cornier, but that's good enough for me; I don't mind that stuff anyway. Y'know, come to think of it, I was going to tell you the same thing…"

"You like me too?

"How did you know?"

"It must be Gem intuition." Though Amethyst had little idea of what this 'Gem intuition' was, she played along with it.

"... Right...So, do you want to kiss?"

"Yes, yes I would really enjoy that!" And thus, they kissed. And while Amethyst's memory failed to recall the events afterward, she did remember a screeching sound and a flashing light. She once again looked out towards the forest fire that raged before the two. She felt quite ashamed.

And that was the last of Amethyst's memory of that fateful night. It didn't take long until she collapsed into a deep slumber.

* * *

Little note was made of the incident by either Steven or Amethyst, at least until a few weeks later, when Amethyst did not receive the monthly gift of Mother Nature. Amethyst was not initially concerned, but had underlying thoughts of her prior incident with Steven. _"Doesn't hurt to be sure,"_ she thought to herself, and after secretly stopping by the local pharmacy, she purchased a pregnancy test.

She made sure to follow the instructions on the box, and in completely privacy, unveiled the results of the test.

Amethyst groaned aloud at the outcome; the result had been positive


	2. The Aborted Abortion

_"No, it couldn't be right, it couldn't be… It's just one test; the next one will be negative, you'll see…"_ Such thoughts raced through Amethyst's mind as she continued to stare at the positive pregnancy test. In a frenzy of doubt, she secretly returned to the local pharmacy and purchased five different brands. Over the next several days, she retested herself, yet they had all been positive. Still, Amethyst refused to believe that she was pregnant; she knew what would happen to any Gem that gave birth. But four weeks later, Amethyst was without the gift of Mother Nature again. That's when she finally believed it; she was indeed pregnant. A month later, Amethyst snuck out of the Crystal Temple and headed out into the night. She had arranged the matter three weeks prior, and tonight it would be done; her fate would be changed.

Amethyst had decided to have an abortion, as painful as it was emotionally for her. While her baby would not live, she would not have to suffer the same fate as Rose, and while it had been a painful decision to make, Amethyst ultimately decided that this was her only choice, other than to give birth. Besides, her fellow Gems still didn't have a clue that she was pregnant; if she got an abortion now, they would never have to know. She had her first appointment three weeks ago, and had been given a blood test and surrendered herself to several medical examinations in preparation for the unceremonious event. Now, as she walked solemnly through the sleeping city, a question came to mind: Was she justified to abandon a life for her own interests? She wrestled with the question, but could not answer it. Rather than stop to question her actions further, she forced the idea out of her mind and continued to the Beach City Hospital. She entered the lobby and approached the counter.

"Name please," the clerk had asked.

"Amethyst." The clerk did some typing on her computer, then continued.

"Amethyst, you are reserved for an abortion. Please take a seat; the surgeon will be with you shortly." Amethyst waited apprehensively in the waiting room for several minutes, until the clerk once again called her to the desk. "They are ready for the abortion, Amethyst. Please proceed to the door on your left." Amethyst walked through the door, where a hospital bed had already been prepared for her, with several nurses standing by it. She needed help to get on due to her diminutive stature, and once she was lying on the bed, it started moving. They went through various rooms and eventually came to a stop in almost no time. As Amethyst stared up at the various equipment that the room housed, her apprehension increased. A nurse latched onto her arm, needle in hand.

"This will hurt, but after this, you won't feel a thing." A needle penetrated Amethyst's arm, and she was seized with pain. After being given the shot, she waited for another five minutes, her nervousness increasing with every passing second, until the surgeon entered the room.

"Good evening, Amethyst. I am going to explain what is about to happen to you. I am going to take a small vacuum and, using gentle suction, extract the fetus and the surrounding tissue. Because of your earlier shot, you won't feel a thing." He picked up a small vacuum, and prepared it for the procedure. Amethyst was suddenly seized with a feeling of horror, the realization that her baby was about to die. As the surgeon approached her, Amethyst screamed.

"Wait, stop! I change my mind!" He gave her a questioning look for a moment.

"Are you sure you don't wish to continue?" Amethyst nodded furiously, pulled her knees to her chest, and started crying.

"What was I thinking?!" Amethyst cried out, disgusted with herself. She had almost taken the life of another for her own needs!

"Calm down miss, it's perfectly normal to experience regrets right now. However, we can't send you home in your current stay yet, at least until the sedative has been flushed out of your body. We'll keep you under observation for the next few hours, but I suggest you spend the next few days going over whether you wish to keep the child. Perhaps you should consider going over the decision with the father."

This experience changed the course of her whole pregnancy. Now she was more determined than ever to give birth to her baby, even if that meant suffering the same fate of Rose Quartz.


	3. Like Father, Like Son

Amethyst spent the night at the hospital waiting for the sedative to flush out, passing the time by crying her eyes out in remorse and guilt. When she could cry no more, she stared down at her stomach, which had already begun to widen slightly. The violet-hued Gem knew that she had been selfish in attempting to get an abortion, that she had attempted to end a life for the sake of her own, and whereas she felt confident before, now she felt nothing else but shame. Eight hours later, the sedative having left her body, she left the hospital. Walking through the parking lot, she came to the realization that her appearance was that of a train wreck; her hair was messy and disheveled, her clothes were visibly moist from the salty tears, and her eyes were red and puffy; giving away the fact that she had been crying recently. "_Don't worry about it right now_," Amethyst thought aloud to herself. "_Just go back to the Crystal Temple; you'll have plenty of time to make yourself presentable there_." In addition, the girl now became aware of the fact that she was quite famished. Acting on impulse, she went to the first place that she could think of: the Big Donut.

Meanwhile, a white van was driving through Beach City. The driver, Steven, was lost in the song that was playing on the radio; it captured his imagination, and his thoughts drifted to an island of the Florida Keys, a place where he could get there fast and then take it slow. So engrossed was he in this fictional island that he almost passed the Big Donut without as much as a glance at it. He stared up at the nostalgic place, turned back toward the road- and took a double take. He slammed the brakes of the van and stared at a small, purple, and quite curvy woman; a woman he knew to be Amethyst. After parking the van, he got out and approached Amethyst.

"Amethyst?" The woman stopped nibbling on her chocolate-frosted donut and looked up at him.

"Hey, Steven," Amethyst greeted with a gloomy tone.

"You need a ride home? Garnet and Pearl sent me to get you; they've been worried sick."

"Eh, sure." Amethyst grabbed her donut and was escorted back to the van by Steven. Entering the van, and moving to start the engine, Steven decided that he wanted to know more about Amethyst's disappearance.

"So, where were you last night?" Amethyst sniffled.

"I was at the hospital."

"Why were you at the hospital?" Amethyst stared down at her feet, trying to figure out how to tell Steven without completely surprising him.

"If I tell you…" She buried her hands in her face. "…will you promise me that you won't get angry?"

"I promise." He paused for a moment and stared at her. "Why? Is something wrong?" Amethyst lifted her hands from her palms and stared up at Steven.

"Remember that night when you said that you loved me and I said that I loved you... and then we were together?" Steven paused, at first confused, but the memory of their one-night stand came to his mind.

"You're pregnant?"

"Yeah…" She paused. "…and I was at the hospital because...because I made a reservation to get an abortion three weeks ago. When I went in there, I suddenly realized that I was doing it for me; I was trying to change fate at the cost of another. Because I was afraid to die." Steven sighed.

"Well… I'm glad you didn't get it. I always wanted to be a father…"

"But you're only nineteen."

"Yeah, but what about it?"

"Well, you're going back to school soon. Are you sure you can handle that while being a parent at the same time?"

"Lots of people have; several of my schoolmates are dealing with it right now, and might I add, quite successfully. So I'm sure I can, too." There was a short pause. "How far along are you?"

"Three months." Steven sighed once more.

"Tell you what, I'll spend some time with you when I come home on the weekends. Does that sound good?"

"I guess so."

"Great! Now we have to tell-"

"Please don't!" Amethyst grabbed Steven's arm. "Please don't tell them; I don't know if they'll ever forgive me!"

"I'm sorry, Amethyst, but we can't hide this forever; they'll eventually find out." Steven started the engine, driving towards the Crystal Temple.


	4. What A Wonderful World

Steven and Amethyst had made a speedy return to the Crystal Temple, as emotionally dejected as the violet-hued Gem was. Not surprisingly, Pearl was the first face to greet them.

"Oh, thank goodness you found her!" Amethyst didn't even look up at the relived Pearl, lest she asked where she had been; she'd leave that to Steven. The other two could only stare as she trudged to the door and shut herself up in her room.

"What's wrong with her," a voice from behind them had asked. Steven and Pearl both suddenly became aware of the presence of Garnet, and turned around to find the rather tall Gem standing before them.

"She's upset over something."

"Well, whatever it is that's upsetting her… I hope she feels better." These had been Garnet's only words on the subject, and when no response came from Steven or Pearl, she returned to the inside of the Crystal Temple.

"Do you know what's upsetting her?" Now, Steven was very conflicted on what to say. To lie would merely delay the inevitable, but Amethyst would be furious at him if he did tell, and he knew well that none of Obsidian's wrath was worse than a Crystal Gem's scorn. He found himself sheepishly looking around, trying to come up with an answer.

"I don't know," he eventually concluded, though it was an answer of avoidance.

"If there's anything we should know, please tell us! It could help us figure out what's making Amethyst so sad." The awkward silence thickened quickly. "Fine. I'm going to go talk to her, see what's up with her." Pearl turned to the door and entered Amethyst's room.

Amethyst was hunched over on the other end of the room, and her head seemed to be buried in her hands.

"You alright, Amethyst?" The girl turned around and looked up at her.

"I'm fine," she responded, but her voice sounded as though she had been crying. Further, her face was red and puffy, and her clothes were still moist from the previous night.

"Are you sure? If there's anything you want to talk about, you know that you can always come to-"

"I'm fine, ok?" The violet Gem sniffled. "Just- I don't want to talk about it." She turned back around, and Pearl grabbed a blue and pink hairbrush from the nearby pile of junk. She stared at the brush for a moment.

Amethyst had owned the hairbrush for as long as the white Gem could remember. It had been years since Pearl had last made use of it, on a warm summer day when Amethyst had been feeling down. Now, when Amethyst was dejected once again, she once again equipped the device to lighten her friend's mood. Pearl now went further and approached her.

"That's fine; if you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to." Pearl sat down near Amethyst. "Still, it would be nice for you to look at least somewhat presentable." Pearl began to run the brush through the jungle of locks, untangling the various clumps within Amethyst's hair. For several minutes Pearl ironed out the tangled mess, until Amethyst finally felt up to talking to her what was upsetting her so.

"Pearl, I…" She struggled somewhat, but eventually found the courage to tell Pearl. "I'm pregnant. And I snuck out last night because… I had arranged to get an abortion." Pearl listened intently as she continued to run the brush through Amethyst's hair. "But when I got there, I…" She began to tear up again. "I realized that I was doing it for me; I was doing it because…" Amethyst paused and turned around to Pearl. She stared up at the face of her sister Gem, which showed not a sign of any sort of anger, but simply compassion- it was so sad yet so wonderful at the same time. Amethyst could hold her tears in no longer; she burst out crying. Pearl embraced her, and Amethyst released her salty tears onto Pearl's shoulder.

"Amethyst… you should have told us. We wouldn't have been upset at you; every Gem goes through this…" Pearl continued, as Amethyst's crying went on.

But on the inside, she couldn't have been happier. This scene of tears had brought Amethyst closer to Pearl in a single moment than they had been in years. And in all this sadness, Amethyst thought to herself the famed words of Louis Armstrong: what a wonderful world this was, the world that she lived in. And what a wonderful person Pearl was.


End file.
